Attend Physics Colloquium on Wednesday, February 20th

Communicating complex ideas in a way that is understandable, unbiased, and meaningful—to other researchers and to the general public—has never been more important for the health of science and of society. The Department of Physics is pleased to announce that three nationally prominent science writers—Kenneth Chang, David Ehrenstein, and Phillip Schewe—will present the Physics Colloquium on February 20, 2019, at 3:30 p.m. in Room 141 Loomis Laboratory of Physics. These distinguished science writers represent decades of experience in communicating science, and they will offer their unique expertise and personal perspectives on how to be an effective spokesperson for your research.    

Kenneth Chang has been a science reporter for the New York Times since 2000, where he covers chemistry, geology, solid state physics, nanotechnology, space, and other contemporary scientific news. Formerly a Ph.D candidate in physics at the University of Illinois, Chang opted instead to pursue a very successful career in science journalism.  Before joining the Times, Chang was a science writer for ABCNews.com. He also worked as a programmer at the National Center for Supercomputing Applications in Urbana.

David Ehrenstein was the founding editor in 1997 of Physical Review Focus, a pioneering American Physical Society web publication. After receiving a Ph.D in biological physics from the University of Illinois in 1994, Ehrenstein spent three years as a postdoctoral fellow and a part-time science writer at the National Institutes of Health. Prior to joining the APS staff, he was an intern at Science magazine and spent a summer as a radio journalist for Science Update, a nationally broadcast radio program produced by the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

Phillip F. Schewe is a Ph.D physicist, writer, and photographer. The author of two books, Maverick Genius and The Grid, Schewe worked for many years as a press officer at the American Institute of Physics, where he served as one of the nation’s leading popularizers of physics research. Schewe recently served as the writer in residence at the Kavli Institute of Theoretical Physics at the University of California, Santa Barbara and has written many articles for magazines and newspapers, including theNew York Times and the Washington Post.